Sign in

Frances Orrok

@francesorrok.bsky.social
287 followers 248 following 93 posts

Writer. Drawn to the wild ones. www.francesorrok.co.uk Pithead Chapel | Wigleaf | Smokelong Quarterly | Gone Lawn | New Ohio Review

PostsRepliesMedia
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Wow Claudia. I could read and reread this on a loop all morning. Brilliant. ❤️
110
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Brevity / Dinty W. Moore @dintywmoore.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"What I write is smarter than I am, because I can re-write it." ~ Susan Sontag
095
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Highly recommend! Online or in person, @kathyfish.bsky.social can conjure words from the bleak, the blank and the bouncy.
122
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
🎉🦋🎶❤️🌷☀️😘
110
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Stunning sadness in this little piece with an Everything title. Congrats to @sfreligh.bsky.social
241
Reposted by Frances Orrok
After Dinner Conversation® @afterdinnerconversation.com · 23/07/2026
1154
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Elena Zhang @ezhang77.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
A poem of mine in the latest issue of Touch the Donkey (touchthedonkey.blogspot.com/2026/07/touc...) #smallpoemsunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social
Neighbors
The thief wanted his neighbor's silver but when he reached inside the jar it was full of ants and now he knew that home was just a burrow in the dirt filled with warm bodies, so much to love
04612
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Thank you Sumitra! And your story - wow. Chills.
110
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Accidental subs should be a whole thing. Then we could just doing the writing part, sleep and oops! Subcident. Congrats!
110
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Oh Jo, I just trawled for yours and wow. That dog and those tulips are everything. Congrats!
110
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Congratulations Melissa!
110
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Thank you Kim! You saw it first!
170
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Thank you Sudha and bravo all! So happy to hear my story 'Have you seen me' was chosen for this lovely list 🎶
010
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Thank you @sudhab.bsky.social and @andrewporter01.bsky.social for your Wigleaf top 50 longlist. So much reading, so much joy! For anyone whose peak overwhelm happens invisibly pre-9am, this one's for you: pitheadchapel.com/have-you-see... @kimmagowan.bsky.social ♥️
pitheadchapel.com
272
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Beautiful.
000
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I hear a lot about writers going over their intended wordcount but anyone out there ever carve out too much? I've been whittling separate chapters and oops! It's getting small.
120
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Entries are open for the @welkinpress.bsky.social genre prize. Micro-fiction experiments boost my stamina for longer projects. Highly recommended for anyone in the middle of a novel draft!
021
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
www.whaleroadreview.com/rinkema/ Oh Emily, the socks! @emilyrinkema.bsky.social
whaleroadreview.com
A Story about God
I tell John I’m tired of writing what I know, of writing about grief and loss. I want to write a story about something I know nothing about, I tell him. He brings me coffee in bed every morning, an…
121
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Yes!
020
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Very pleased to announce that all the coaltits nesting above my front door have fledged. Two nearly didn’t make it when their nestbox fell down at the weekend, but since then, their parents have been wildly busy with beaks full of caterpillars and the last one flew this morning. Phew.
000
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Geneva Writers Group @genevawriters.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Oh no! Did you forget to register?? 👀 Writing to Change the World with Yun Wei is a virtual cross-genre workshop exploring how writing can awaken, unsettle, and inspire change — for writers of all levels. 🗓 May 19 🕖 19:00–20:30 (CET) 📍 Online #WritingWorkshop #CreativeWriting #Poetry #Writers
021
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Summer Brennan @summerbrennan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Writing me: All the adjectives! Yes! Not just a torch, but a flaming, burning, blazing torch! Let's not get confused here! Editing me: Please go directly to jail.
1321
Reposted by Frances Orrok
National Flash Fiction Day @natflashfictionday.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
FlashFlood opens for submissions on 19 April till 25 April. Flashes up to 300 words. Stories will be published on NFFD. Pre 2023 previously published considered. Reserved slots for unpublished writers. For more details see our submission guidelines: flashfloodjournal.blogspot.com/p/submission...
media.tenor.com
a cartoon piglet looking through a magnifying glass
ALT: a cartoon piglet looking through a magnifying glass
05445
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
So much and so much. @andreabishop.bsky.social @jmwwjournal.bsky.social
jmwwblog.wordpress.com
Fiction: We Pretend by Andrea Bishop
At your house, there’s commotion and mess and fruit loops. The TV’s always on. Your family’s blended and two sets of rules means no rules at all.
010
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Split/Lip Press @splitlippress.com · 01/04/2026
We're open for MULTIGENRE FULL-LENGTH MANUSCRIPTS!!! April 1 - June 1, send your multigenre books to our SUPER EXCITED brand new multigenre reading team, headed by our SUPER EXCITED multigenre editor, @erinvachon.bsky.social! Link for full details + to submit: splitlippress.submittable.com/submit
purple background with jellyfish and the message OPEN CALL FOR MULTIGENRE MANUSCRIPTS, reading period April 1 through June 1, submit at splitlippress.submittable.com
15136
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
So cool!
010
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
So good Kik.
110
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Finally, the bug is back with a round of the Guinness.
Macro photo of a brown stink bug in face view on a leaf, guarding a tightly-clustered bunch of eggs that are shaped and colored exactly like a full tray of dark beer with foam on top.
9283751785
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Oh god this one.
020
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Lev Parikian @levparikian.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Two years ago. Belfast. Starlings.
2976
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Eric Scot Tryon @ericscottryon.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Do yourself a favor and take the 3 minutes to read this beautiful story: “Heart” by @djpoissant.bsky.social in @cincinnatireview.bsky.social 🔥❤️ So good! www.cincinnatireview.com/micros/heart/
cincinnatireview.com
Heart - The Cincinnati Review
Managing Editor Lisa Ampleman: In "Heart," David James Poissant shows how information can be revealed slowly and deliberately in a piece of flash fiction.
151
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Oh I am deep in a hole of outrage but this little story by Petra Marteleur brought me out of it for one excellent minute: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...
mattkendrick.co.uk
John | MattKendrick.co.uk
020
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
I'm so excited to read this! Congratulations Claudia 🎉
110
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Dorothy, a publishing project @dorothyproject.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Appropriately includes Caren Beilin's REVENGE OF THE SCAPEGOAT! "The funniest parts of this funny American book are the dialogues between Iris’s aching feet, whom she has named Bouvard and Pécuchet (after two characters in an unfinished Flaubert novel)." electricliterature.com/7-novels-abo...
electricliterature.com
7 Novels About Women Who Lose the Plot - Electric Literature
These books celebrate reckless speed, dizzying intensity, audacious rudeness, and the abandonment of social norms
082
Reposted by Frances Orrok
After Dinner Conversation® @afterdinnerconversation.com · 20/01/2026
03316
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Dani Garavelli @danigaravelli.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
As Trump menaces Greenland, this much is clear: the free world needs a new plan – and inspired leadership | Gordon Brown
The idea that the liberal rules-based order can survive his presidency now seems complacent. This is a historic moment – and a time to act, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brown
0104
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Exciting new books from Dorothy
020
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
If we keep praising AI for its mistakes and nonsense now, maybe it'll grow up to be a generally contented entity whose middle-aged pathology is limited to grieving the discontinuation of its favourite deodorant.
000
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Thinking of starting a list of new year savings, but need to set up the basics: if I consider getting my hair cut 4 times today, do I count the thought or the repetition? Or do I only clock it once my hair hits the kitchen bin? Scrubbing dried pizza off the scissors just in case...
000
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
You too Kik!
010
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Thank you @dseuss.bsky.social - just thrilled to see my story 'Have You Seen Me' was chosen for the 2026 @bestmicrofiction.bsky.social anthology. Just look at the company it's in! And of course huge thanks to @pitheadchapel.bsky.social's @kimmagowan.bsky.social for publishing and nominating. 🎉
5131
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Wow! A match made in heaven. Congratulations Emily. 🎉
130
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
I am very excited about everything I am going to print, paint, read and make when days of the week exist again. For now, it’s enough to remember to drink water occasionally and remember my name.
020
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
This is a wonderful book, inside and out.
021
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
“Guzmán’s daughter was still in the NICU, unable to eat or breathe independently. The doctors had planned a meeting to review the baby’s prognosis and care plans… As Guzmán went to buckle her seatbelt, she looked out the window and noticed they were surrounded.”
19thnews.org
Her baby was in the NICU. She was in ICE detention.
Before Trump took office, postpartum immigrants were rarely detained by ICE. Nayra Guzmán was detained while her 15-day-old baby was in the NICU.
10322157
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
"Mary suffered more than her child, and for longer. She suffered the horror of her child's suffering until her dying day." Just Claire Kilroy's Soldier Sailor breaking me one line at a time.
000
Reposted by Frances Orrok
Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
A story Stoppard told several times, in several places:
"Years and years ago, there was a production of The Tempest, out of doors, at an Oxford college on a lawn, which was the stage, and the lawn went back towards the lake in the grounds of the college, and the play began in natural light. But as it developed, and as it became time for Ariel to say his farewell to the world of The Tempest, the evening had started to close in and there was some artificial lighting coming on. And as Ariel uttered his last speech, he turned and he ran across the grass, and he got to the edge of the lake and he just kept running across the top of the water — the producer having thoughtfully provided a kind of walkway an inch beneath the water. And you could see and you could hear the plish, plash as he ran away from you across the top of the lake, until the gloom enveloped him and he disappeared from your view.
And as he did so, from the further shore, a firework rocket was ignited, and it went whoosh into the air, and high up there it burst into lots of sparks, and all the sparks went out, and he had gone.

"When you look up the stage directions, it says, 'Exit Ariel.”
192294769
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Steve from August Blue by Deborah Levy
000
Frances Orrok @francesorrok.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
110